ThirdGen=>goat

I had a 92 Camaro RS (loved the hell out of that car)... switched to a Liberty renegade, possibly giving to little brother who's getting his license. I missed the "cool car" thing and want to get a goat.

What are things to look for when buying a GTO. I want an 05 or 06 and have been looking around. What are common problem areas to look at and why a GTO over something else... I've always thought they were cool (and dig the 400HP) but I wonder if it's too impractical for a college kid.

Thanks!!

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

mine has been great. for 16k its yours.

Robofuzz

On '06's there was an issue with the front struts leaking. Most of those should have been fixed under warranty. There were some GTO's that had bad rear diffs that had to be replaced. It's characterized by a whine coming from the rear. On '05 and '06 there is an issue with some where the paint will start flaking off the door handles. Some people in high heat climates have had problems with their ignition lock cylinders not disengaging and leaving them stuck.

All of these are fixable and just some issues to be aware of.

ABNGTO8796

Good info robofuzz

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

tire wear is also a problem.

GTOANT

The gto tends to have tire wear problems, that can be fixed with about $200 in bushings. Also the ignition cylinder gremlin, fixed mine twice under warranty. My glow box latch broke, also fixed under warranty. Other than than that shes grrrreat! lol

CamaroGuy87132

iTrader: (2)

Any GTO you go to look at make sure you lift off the drivers side fuel rail cover and look at the rubber fuel line underneath it. Some of the fuel rail covers cut a slit into the line and some even caused a small fire, rare cases though.

Check for the rear seat stitching as some rip open due to being left out in the sun all the time.

Like said above inner tire wear due to poor suspension from the factory. Full suspension to fix all the problem is about 1k and makes the car ride 100x better. The ride from the factory is awesome though.

The silver plastic on the steering wheel has been known to peel up just due to carelessness and not being taken care of.

The paint flaking on the door handle and the power lock button going bad is also something I've heard of a few times.

The paint on these cars is very soft and will chip easily so keep that in mind.

All I can say is I've had my GTO since March 2009 and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I take care of it more than I need to and I haven't had any of the above problems aside from rock chips and inner tire wear. But all the bushings I just bought will solve that problem.

The interior on this car is awesome and soooo comfortable. Everyone that has gotten in my back seat is amazed how comfortable it is. The car handles great for being a RWD sports car and handles even better with a couple thousand in suspension work. The independent rear suspension causes people to have trouble with wheel hop but honestly its not too bad once you learn to launch it and all.

A lot of power from the factory, I ran 13.1 at 107 with just a crappy k&n intake and a SLP catback on mine. The only advice I can give you is to get one. You won't regret it. Find one unmolested with lower mileage and you'll be alright. Its not impractical at all for a college kid as it handles just as good in the rain as long as your not an idiot about it.